In the first game of the series Grayson Grinsell pitched a gem, a complete-game two-hitter as Oregon edged first-place, UCLA 2-1 Friday night.
Saturday night the bullpen woes continued as the No. 10 Bruins feasted on sloppy pitching, dropping the Ducks to 13-7 in league play with a 14-4 run-rule shellacking. Now they trail first-place Iowa by three full games with three more weekends left in their conference season.
As crisp and cohesive as the Ducks looked on Friday, Saturday was a comparative disaster. The bullpen blew up again, giving up four runs in the seventh and six in the eighth to turn a close game into a laugher.
Oregon pitchers plunked seven batters in the game, gave up three homers with the wind blowing out, walked a batter and only struck out three. Santiago Garcia continued his mound struggles, surrendering two homers for four earned runs while only recording two outs.
Every pitcher was touched up except Sam Boyle, who came on in relief and retired the side in the 8th to end the six-run rally.
The tough day on the bump wasted a pair of homers by all-time leading home run hitter Jacob Walsh. His solo homer tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth, and he hammered another solo shot in the bottom of the seventh to get the Ducks within 8-4.
𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐀
— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) April 19, 2025
Jacob Walsh ties up the ballgame with a solo shot to right for his 10th of the year. He's the fifth Duck with double-digit homers on the season. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/NgyQvBxqmF
The Ducks took a 2-1 lead in the first inning. Mason Neville launched a leadoff home run, his 18th of the year, tying him with Grant Gallagher of ETSU for the NCAA lead. Then Drew Smith walked, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Anson Arroz.
𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐌@masonneville_ smoked this ball for his 18th homerun of the year, tying the single-season program record. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/MH2jCcKtOf
— Oregon Duck Baseball (@OregonBaseball) April 19, 2025
No lead was safe, however, on a day the pitching kept spraying gas on the brush fire. The Bruins took back the lead on a pair of runs in the fourth. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases. A fielder's choice scored one and a wild pitch brought in another. UCLA forged ahead 3-2.
Then came the Walsh homers, followed by onslaught of crooked numbers in the late innings. With a month to go in the season, the Ducks need a better formula than Grinsell on Friday and pray for rain.
Read More: